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About Rachel
Start Here!
- How I Can Help You
- Take Back Control: Order Your Own Thyroid Tests
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Life Lessons

25 Things I’ve Learnt in 25 Years

25 Things I’ve Learnt in 25 Years

Here are 25 things I’ve learnt in 25 years. Many of which have helped me make…

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theinvisiblehypothyroidism

❓I’ve been asked many times “Why do you refe

❓I’ve been asked many times “Why do you refer to your hypothyroidism / Hashimoto’s as a chronic illness? It’s not!”

Errr, it is. 🥴

•••

❗️“Chronic illness” can sound dramatic to those who don’t understand its meaning.

It refers to a health condition that:

💙 Is ‘persistent’ or in other words long lasting E.g. a health condition you’ll have for life.

💙 Cannot be cured (or usually cannot) which is why you’re expected to have it for life.

❗️Hypothyroidism in most cases is not curable, so we’re given thyroid hormone replacement medication for life. Blood tests are then required to keep on top of managing it.

❓Whether YOU do or do not like to use the term ‘chronic illness’ is a personal choice and preference! But it is technically correct.

❗️I find it an easier term to use than explaining my thyroid condition every time, which can be met with confused faces and people who switch off. Emphasising that it is something that’s lifelong and requires monitoring helps to get across its importance and what it means to me and my life.

❗️However, I certainly don’t feel limited by having a chronic illness. I live symptom-free day to day and my thyroid condition is under control. It doesn’t run my life and I hardly even think about the fact I have it. It’s not a label to me.

•••

❓How do you feel about this term? Let me know below 👇

- Rachel 🦋💙

🫣 Did you know that people with hypo are more l

🫣 Did you know that people with hypo are more likely to have high cholesterol?!

✔️ I had mine checked a month or so ago (and it thankfully came back normal).

•••

❗️Hypothyroidism is linked to cholesterol levels. ❗️

🩸An underactive thyroid / hypothyroidism can cause cholesterol to increase and you may not even be aware that this is the cause or a factor for your high cholesterol.

🩸The main purpose of thyroid hormone is to ensure the metabolism is running properly. The metabolism’s job is to produce heat and fuel but also to regulate cholesterol levels.

🩸So, with reduced metabolic function comes poor processing of cholesterol, as the metabolism slows down from hypothyroidism, causing cholesterol levels to increase.

🩸If you have hypothyroidism and are found to have high cholesterol, then treatment for the high cholesterol may be delayed to wait until your thyroid treatment is optimal, as this often brings the cholesterol levels down on its own and so removes the need for statins (source: NHS website).

…

Other Considerations:

💊 Statins are also more likely to cause muscle damage in people with hypothyroidism (source: NHS website).
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
🍲 Diet - by reducing the amount of high-cholesterol foods you eat and increasing low-saturated fat and high fibre foods, you can improve cholesterol levels.

🐟 Omega 3 - increases ‘good’ HDL cholesterol and Omega 6 lowers ‘bad’ LDL cholesterol.

🥱 Vitamin B3 - can also reduce LDL and increase HDL.

🚶‍♀️ Increasing exercise - starting off slow and going gently, can also help to lower high cholesterol.

• • •

👇 Let me know your experiences with this in the comments and as always, follow me for more thyroid info and please check out the resources linked in my bio for more support!

- Rachel 🦋💙

😔 Not everyone responds well to standard thyroi

😔 Not everyone responds well to standard thyroid medication.

…

🦋 Levothyroxine didn’t make me better. I just felt worse and worse. Symptoms piled up.

•Heavy fatigue
•Deep muscle aches and pains
•Dry skin
•Heavy periods
•Heart palpitations
•Cold intolerance
•Depression
•Migraines
•Joint pain
•Brain fog
•Constipation
•Brittle nails
•Hair loss
•Hoarse voice
•Inability to exercise
•Sleeping 14 hours and still waking up fatigued
•Acid reflux

And so much more.

🦋 I wasn’t converting the T4-only medication in to any T3. Even when my Free T4 levels came up, my Free T3 stayed low.

🦋 When I changed to an NDT medication which contained direct T3, all of the symptoms disappeared and I finally felt human again.

🦋 I’m one of the thyroid patients who needs direct T3 in my thyroid medication in order to function and feel well. Without it, I was living a half life. A zombie.

…

❓ How do your meds work for you? Let me know.👇

📖 And remember: the book “Be Your Own Thyroid Advocate” covers my experience and journey with these different thyroid medications and how I went from extremely poor health to thriving again.

- Rachel 🦋💙

(PS- I’m currently on a combo of meds - 150mg Armour + 25mcg Levo)

❄️ Why may some thyroid patients need more thy

❄️ Why may some thyroid patients need more thyroid medication in the colder months?

•••

💙The main purpose of thyroid hormones is to ensure that the metabolism is running properly.

💚People with hypothyroidism (and possibly not optimally medicated for it) may have symptoms associated with a slow metabolism, such as feeling cold a lot of the time.

💙We need the correct amount of thyroid hormones in our bodies to burn calories in order to create heat and fuel, which is important, in particular for our body temperature and energy levels.

💚In the winter, we may have a greater need for thyroid hormones (and medication), in order to create extra heat and fuel, to keep us warm and energised in these months.

💙When it is the colder time of year, we have a greater need for thyroid hormones to produce the extra heat and energy that we need to feel well and it is for this reason, that some thyroid patients find they actually need to slightly more thyroid medication in the cold months or when they go on holiday to a colder country, with the guidance of a doctor adjusting their dosage of course.

‼️I definitely do not suggest you do this on your own!

💚It’s worth talking to your doctor about this if you notice that you feel particularly worse at a certain time of year, and think you could do with a slight medication dosage adjustment.

💙You may also feel hypo symptoms return if you require a slight increase of thyroid medication in these cooler months.

💚You should aim to have your thyroid levels (the full panel) tested twice a year if possible; once in the warmer months and once in the cooler months, so your doctor can adjust your dose as soon as possible.

•••

👇 Let me know below - did you know this?!

- Rachel 🦋💙

© Rachel Gask and The Invisible Hypothyroidism, 2015-2023. All Rights Reserved.

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